Democratic senate candidate Ruben Gallego responded to shock accusations tying him to drug cartels lodged by rival political Kari Lake. The failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate and MAGA ally claimed Gallego was “controlled by the cartels” and that “his own father was a Colombian drug trafficker” during a Sept. 30 appearance on Newsmax.
Gallego, who currently represents Arizona’s third congressional district, addressed Lake’s claims on Thursday, revealing that his father, with whom he has no relationship, is a “convicted drug dealer” and that “it’s a stain that our family has had to carry.”
"This is why my mom, my sisters and myself have worked our entire lives to really live the American Dream and to serve and honor this country despite what he has done,” he said, becoming emotional as he spoke.
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The congressman, who leads heavily in the polls with margins ranging from 4 to 14 percentage points, called Lake a “pathetic loser.
“This is who Kari Lake is,” Gallego continued. “She attacks families when she is losing.”
The right-wing firebrand has a track record of being a sore loser. Lake ascended to prominence in the Republican Party began while backing false claims that Donald Trump was robbed of Arizona’s electoral votes after widespread voter fraud in 2020. Two years later, she ran for governor of the Grand Canyon State, an election she lost and similarly challenged using baseless accusations of Democrat-led mass voter fraud.
Lake and Gallego first butted heads in 2023, when the pair were on the same flight from Washington to Phoenix. Gallego, who instigated, took to X writing “Hey @KariLake we’re on the same plane! Just come back from first class to coach and we can chat. Happy to walk you through all my legislative work to deliver key resources to AZ’s border communities.”
Lake shot back with a link to a news story about Gallego owning a house near Capitol Hill, and wrote: “Feel free to say hi, Ruben. I can help with your homesickness. I know it’s got to be difficult for you to leave your full-time residence in DC and visit the people you pretend to represent.”
Sources told The New York Times that, upon landing, Lake “ambushed” Gallego, recording and berating him with questions.
